Tag Archive for: Leopards

BARWICK GIVES LEOPARDS REASON TO CELEBRATE

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SALEM OH- The area was treated to a premiere matchup on Saturday afternoon. Louisville made the trip to Quaker country to take on the vaunted Quaker defense. Salem went further than any other girls team in the YSN family last season, and it’s games against teams like Louisville that got them that far.  In this edition, it was a low scoring nail biter.  Usually that would be leverage to Salem, but the Leopards were able to match the defensive intensity.

With the Leopards holding a 35-31 lead late in the game, Salem made their final push. After cutting it to 2, 35-33 the Quakers got the ball back. On a wonderfully executed play the Quakers got Lauryn Barton open for a split second. It was just long enough for her to get off a tough shot and drill it giving Salem a 36-35 lead with about 7 seconds left. It made the entire gym erupt.  Louisville went to Brooke Haren on their last possession and she drove the length of the floor, put up a tough shot and left it short.  She gave Courtney Barwick enough to time to grab a rebound and get fouled putting up a put back.   At the free throw line with .7 seconds left Barwick hit both her shots and took the 37-36 win.

Barwick and Haren both led the Leopards with 12 points a piece.  Taryn Miglich hit 2 threes on her way to 8 points for Louisville.  Abbie Davidson continued to put together great games as she scored a game-high 17 points for Salem.  Barton’s perimeter game got her to finish with 9 points while Kami Rohm finished with 6.

Louisville stays on the road on Wednesday as they travel to GlenOak.  Salem stays home on Wednesday as they return to league play against Minerva.

LEOPARDS LET LOOSE IN LABRAE

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LEAVITTSBURG, OH – It was a good way to start off 2023 for the Liberty girls’ basketball team on Monday. Playing on the road, the Leopards would take down conference foe LaBrae handedly by a score of 75-36 in a game that featured two 20+ point quarters by the Leopards; a 22-9 first quarter and a convincing 22-4 fourth quarter.

 

The senior duo of Demi Watson and Aaliyah Foster was once again the workload for Liberty, as they combined for 58 of the team’s 75 points, with Watson leading all scorers with 30 and Foster just trailing with 28. They also compiled 33 of the team’s 40 first-half points as LaBrae had a tough time stopping their explosive drives to the basket. To cap things off in their stellar performances, Watson had a good night from the line as she dialed a 5/7 mark. 

 

The Vikings, despite the struggles, found promise from the charity stripe as they went 12/14 in the first half and finished 18/24 for an impressive 75%. Freshman Ella Kuzsmaul held her own for the Vikings as she led the team with 12 points, including going 5/6 on foul shots on the night. Senior Jahnya Dorsey also played tough, as she went 4/6 from the line and had 6 points before going out with a leg injury. LaBrae also put up a strong second quarter showing with 15 points in the period before Liberty pulled away in the second half.

 

Liberty (4-3) will welcome Campbell Memorial on Thursday as the Leopards begin a six-game home stand that will last for about two-and-a-half weeks. The Vikings (2-8) will travel out to Champion on Thursday to end the week.

*Contributed By YSN’s Noah Ricks

BLAZERS BOUNCE BACK TO OPEN DAY TWO

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In the opening game of day two of the fifth annual South Range Holiday Hoops Classic, The Hathaway Brown Blazers matched up with The Louisville Leopards. The Blazers fell short against the red hot Green Bulldogs on Wednesday, while The Leopards won in a thriller comeback fashion against The Painesville Riverside Beavers. Both teams have faced tough competition all season and have been well-tested throughout. 

The Blazers came out scoring with a purpose, finding a lot more success from distance in the second day of The Holiday Hoops Classic. Spreading the scoring around, Gia Piscitelli proved once again to be a good court manager from the point guard position, as she got a multitude of teammates involved. Massie Castellanos contributed with some major minutes off the bench, making good with multiple scores to help provide an extra spark for Hathaway Brown! By the end of the first half, The Blazers managed a 16 point lead heading into halftime. 

Out of the second half, Louisville was sparked up and firing on all cylinders from distance! Going on a nice offensive run to start the third quarter, The Leopardas were able to trim the deficit all the way down to just five points. However, Hathaway Brown was not having it on this day, as Teagan Clark kept up her same energy throughout the game and managed to find consistent success from the arc, enabling The Blazers to build their lead back up to 16 points to end the third. 

The Leopards tried to keep chipping away at the deficit, with Courtney Barwick and Taryn Mglich finding their shots from distance. The difference? Everytime the Leopards tried at the momentum scores, Hathaway Brown was able to take it right back. Jermaney Jones proved to be a difference maker for The Blazers, grabbing a number of offensive boards to secure extra possessions for her team. Pair that with a solid team effort of scoring and Hathaway Brown came away with the 60-48 win over Louisville.

With the win, Hathaway Brown will now go to 9-3 on the season, while Louisville will fall to 5-4 on the campaign. Both teams finished 1-1 in their two days at The South Range Holiday Hoops Classic, while Teagan Clark won Player of The Game for this contest! As her consistent scoring and shooting through all four quarters were critical in aiding a Blazers victory! Interviews with the coach and Player of The Game can be found below!

*Contributed By YSN’s Ty Bartell

IRISH DEFY THE ODDS

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LIBERTY TOWNSHIP, OH – Ursuline girls’ basketball has found their way to get through some tough ball games and Wednesday was no different on the road. Trailing 29-18 in the third quarter against Liberty, the Lady Irish would use a 25-8 run to pull off the come-from-behind 43-37 victory.

 

It was a well-balanced attack as everyone on the floor got involved, with a big spark coming from senior Alayna Smith, who grabbed crucial rebounds and chipped in 12 points to lead the team. Junior Lily Scott also pitched in with her shooting, as she picked up two third-quarter threes to get the rally going. She finished the night with 11 points, including three field goals from beyond the arc.

 

Liberty’s Demi Watson, on the other hand, was borderline unstoppable in the first half as the senior cashed in 17 of the team’s 21 first-half points. Ursuline, however, found a way to adjust and shut her down for just four second-half points. Despite this, Watson led all scorers on the night with 21. Senior Aaliyah Foster was the only Leopard player other than Watson to score, as she dialed in 16.

 

Ursuline (5-4) will now travel down to the Struthers Fieldhouse on Monday to take on the Struthers Wildcats (7-4, 4-1 NE8), who will be coming off an 11-day hiatus after falling just short to Poland 57-56. Liberty (3-3, 1-1 MVAC Gray) will hit the road on Monday when they travel out to LaBrae in a conference matchup.   

 

YSN’s Noah Ricks talked with Ursuline coach Bernard Scott following tonight’s contest. You can watch the full interview beloW.

*Contributed by YSN’s Noah Ricks

 

LEOPARDS SPOT ON IN COMEBACK WIN

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CANFIELD OH- In continuing a very tough, independent schedule, The Louisville Leopards traveled to South Range High School to take part in The South Range Holiday Tournament. Slated to participate in both days of the event on Wednesday and Thursday, Louisville met another quality team in The Beavers from Painesville Riverside. Both teams came in with a winning record on Wednesday, but Riverside was winners of six straight after dropping their first two contests of the season. Louisville, after a loss to Canton McKinley, looked to get back on track after having their four game winning streak snapped. 

The first quarter saw the two teams exchange leads off of scoring runs; however, a battle ensued for both teams trying to control the tempo of the game. The fight and effort knotted the ball game up 25-25 going into the half! With the two teams even after the first 16 minutes, they would look to make the adjustments necessary to emerge victorious. 

Out of the third quarter, The Beavers Savana Laurenty came out with a fury! Scoring in bunches, she helped Painesville Riverside capture a seven point lead at the end of the third off the back of 29 total points on the night for Laurenty. Bella Bozic was also a sniper for The Beavers, with 19 points total and five shots finding the mark from distance, she helped spread the floor for Riverside.

However, the resilient Leopards never showed any quit despite trailing several times throughout the ballgame.  Taylor McCully started dropping in shots from the arc with more regularity in the fourth quarter and Taryn Miglich also found some distance shots. Courtney Barwick was the facilitator for Louisville, dishing out multiple buckets to a variety of players

The Player of The Game was Taylor McCully,not only for her scoring presence, but for rebounding ability as well as sealing the game with the final shot that put The Leopards up by five! Both teams will be in action again on Thursday, December 29th for the second day of The South Range Holiday Tournament!

*Contributed By YSN’s Ty Bartell

ITS NO RED HAREN, BROOKE IS THE REAL DEAL

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LOUISVILLE OH- In literature, a red herring is a tool authors will use to the reader off the trail of a mystery or plot twist. There will be none of that in this article. Louisville junior Brooke Haren is a star still in the making, and we don’t need a plot twist to tell you that.  Brooke hopped on the scene last season as a Leopard as she helped the Leopards to one of their best seasons in quite some time. There was a lot of senior leadership on that squad a year ago, and Brooke took everything she could in. Although she isn’t a senior yet, she understood that a lot of leadership responsibilities would be put on her shoulders in 2022-2023.  She has embraced the challenge and is already proven to be invaluable on the court for Louisville, not just because of her output, but also because of the way she can keep all of her teammates calm and focused towards one goal.  Most recently Brooke put her name in the bright lights as she hit a buzzer beater three to help Louisville beat Perry by a point.

Brooke took the time to sit down with Anthony Hartwig after that dramatic shot. Not only do they talk about the experience of that moment, but they also talk about taking a boost of leadership, how she stays confident as a scorer, and so much more. Check out the latest Player Profile out of Louisville only on YSN!

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DON’T SLEEP ON THE LEOPARDS

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Liberty and Brookfield have become unlikely rivals over the last few years so a difference in records meant nothing going into their December matchup this past Tuesday night. Brookfield came in (4-1) after running the table against an easy slate of games to begin the year. Liberty on the other hand were (1-5) after being handed one of the most difficult schedules of the season.

Brookfield got the night started out well as they went on a little run to create some separation from the Leopards, but before they could blink the Leopards turned on the jets and created a handful of turnovers to take the lead 16-12 after the first quarter.

However, it was the Warriors who would take control going into the glad as Matteo Fortuna, Xzavier Witherow, and Donovan Pawlowski combined for 24-points in the first half to take a 30-29 lead into the halftime break. The Leopards were playing well as Evan Bates and Silas Robinson had a combined 19-points in the first half, but the rest of the team was struggling to find a rhythm.

Tempers would heat up out of the break as both of these teams were trying everything they could to pull away from their opponent, but neither could do it. As a result, these two teams got into a physical back and forth brawl that led to them exchanging the lead more than six times in the third quarter. Liberty would take the lead into the final quarter 48-44 over the Warriors.

The final quarter was closer than the final score would lead one to believe as the game ended with Liberty at the free throw line to stretch what was a five-point lead into an eleven-point victory. Brookfield had phenomenal efforts from Fortuna and Pawlowski who combined for 45-points in total Tuesday night.

Liberty’s upset of Brookfield was just their second win of the season as they totaled a season high 73-points behind a 27-point game from Evan Bates who took home player of the game honors. Liberty is back in action on Wednesday night as they travel back to Youngstown to visit East High School. Brookfield will look to get back to their winning ways on the road against Maplewood on Thursday.

*Contributed By YSN’s Alek Koberna

MCCOY’S BIG NIGHT LIFTS GARFIELD AHEAD

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LIBERTY OH- Monday night basketball gave the region one of its biggest matchups of the season. Two teams that each took home district championships a season ago facing off once again. The Liberty Leopards came in with a record of (2-1) after cancelling a majority of their games to start the season due to illness. Meanwhile the Garfield Lady G-Men came in as hot as could be winning the first five games of their season without a loss. They also came in with a win streak of 12 consecutive regular season games dating back to last years road loss against Liberty in January.

Redemption for Garfield was on the line as they lost both games a season ago by small margins and they would not be denied the win this time around. A stellar defensive performance combined with a great shooting night from Laura McCoy would drive Garfield to a dominant victory. This game was only in question once as the Leopards and G-Men battled hard in the first quarter of Monday nights game. A quarter in which Liberty led by three when it was all said and done. But that would be the last anyone saw of the Leopards offensive attack as over the next two quarters they were able to put together just eight-points while the G-Men put up an outstanding 27-points in the same time period.

Liberty finally got some momentum in the fourth, but McCoy would put an end to a late run by the Leopards to win the game 52-33. Garfield picks up their sixth win of the season and put an end to Liberty’s 14-game home win streak that dated back to February of 2021. Liberty moves back to .500 on the season as they are now (2-2) and will look to bounce back against Cleveland East Tech on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. ET. Garfield will travel out to Mogadore Field on Wednesday for a 7:00 p.m. ET game.

Liberty’s Demi Watson continued her legendary career as she put up 12-points in Monday’s game to move into 2nd all-time in scoring for girls’ basketball at Liberty High School. She has totaled 1043-points during her time and is now chasing only Shar’Da Williamson for 1st place who set the record back in the 2020 season.

*Contributed By YSN’s Alek Koberna

CHANEY IS RAMPING UP MOMENTUM

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YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Jason Hewlett dropped twenty-two points in three quarters as Chaney handed Liberty its fourth loss of the season, 63-20.

Liberty (1-4) started the game handling the patented Chaney pressure well and were able to score with the Cowboy’s. KJ Turner and Evan Bates both hit from beyond the arc to keep the Leopard’s within striking distance at the end of one, trailing 16-12.

The Chaney Cowboys (3-1) responded with an explosive second quarter to take a 47-18 lead into halftime. Jason Hewlett paced the showtime Cowboys with an impressive 14 second quarter points. Ga’Mior Jackson added 5 points for the quarter, including a buzzer beater three, the only made basket from beyond the arc for Chaney in the half.

After a few minutes of third quarter play, the running clock was in effect and would never be called off. The Cowboys dominated Liberty in the second half, holding the Leopards scoreless in the third quarter, and allowing just one basket in the fourth.

LEADING SCORERS –

CHANEY:

Jason Hewlett – 22 points

Jashaun Holcomb – 10 points

Ga’Mior Jackson – 9 points

LIBERTY:

KJ Turner – 5 points

Evan Bates – 5 points

Chaney – Extending their streak to three in a row, the Cowboys will hit the road for a neutral site contest against the Walsh Jesuit Warriors. The Warriors come in with an undefeated 5-0 record, boasting impressive wins over Brush, St. Ignatius, Gilmour Academy, and Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary’s.

Liberty – Dropping their second game in a row to a top Northeast Ohio team, the Liberty Leopards will look to regroup with a road matchup against Crestview (3-2). Liberty has won their previous five matchups against the Rebels.

*Contributed By YSN’s Jamie Thomson

LEOPARDS DOMINATE FROM THE JUMP

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LOUISVILLE OH- After Louisville hosted a dramatic buzzer beater in the afternoon with the Lady Leopards taking down Perry, the boys team took center stage in the evening.  The dramatic flair wasn’t there for the boys side though. The Leopards controlled the game from the tip as they welcomed in South Range.  Louisville jumped out to a 15-0 lead in under 3 minutes.  The game was never in doubt after that.  They’d go on to win 72-25.

Will Aljancic led the way for the Leopards with 17 points on the night.  He was one of three Leopards in double figures.  Hayden Nigro scored 12 points to contribute to the offense. Brayden Gross was the last Leopard in double figures chipping in 10.
Landon Moore was in double figures for the Raiders leading with 11 points.

Louisville will continue their season on Tuesday as they host Austintown Fitch.  South Range will also be back in action on Tuesday as they travel to Niles.